Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1887-02-24
4 arURDER nfrsrERY.
A ssasoxd Negro Probably the One
Murdered.

| was found in Mann's pond, near Edding-
ton, Bucks county, on the Bristol and
Philadelphia turnpike, this morning. The
circumstances surrounding the case point
strongly to q murder having been COM
mitted and the victim being horribly
butchered. The human trunk was
wrapped when found in q piece OF heavy
paper bound by stout cord.
PHnADE1PmA, Feb. 21.-Chief of De-
tectives Kelly continued the investiga-
ton of the murder of the man whose dis
membered trunk was found near Edding-
ton, Bucks county last week, and this
evening arrested colored woman known
as Hannah Mary Tabbs on suspicion of
having taken the body to the place where
it was found. The first clue was the dis
coyery that Waite Gaines,a young colored
man about 81 years old, who boarded
with Mrs. Williams at No. 207 Schell
street, had been missing since the morn
ing of Wednesday last. His sister, Mrs,
Jennie Cannon, who lives at No. 1913
Lemon street, is of the opinion that it was
his body that was found from the fact
that it was his custom to call at her house
every day when in the city, and to always
notify her Of his intended absence. His
last visit was on Tuesday evening of last
| WEEK. ~ WDlcu blt16 ne bhlu HOtulUR Vi
leaving town, but on the contrary prom
ised as usual to return next day.
She describes her brother as being of
medium hight and build and distin-
guished by particularly low or stopping
shoulders, which corresponds with those
of the body found. When she was seen
by the detectives and questioned as to
the friends and associates of her brother
she mentioned the name of Mary Tabbs,
| o colored woman with whom he had been
intimate. In the course of her con versa
ton she said that about two weeks ago
Mary Tabbs had passed by her house, and
| finding her brother talking to girl on
i the street, broke out into terrible rage
and attacked him, driving him into the
house. She was attracted to the door by
the noise of the alteration, aud rs bsr
brother ran toward her she heard the
Tabbs woman threaten him, say ing she
would kill him or get even with him.
The next step was to arrest Mary
| Tabbs. On being taken before Chief
Kelly the woman repeated the story of
having fallen on the ice and injured her
hip AMI of being treated at the Pennsyl-
vania Hospital, which the suspected
woman had told Conductor Frank G.
| swain OH the trnin on the evening before
the discovery was made. She was de-
tanned until the arrival of Conductor
Swain tonight at headquarters, when he
fully identified her as the person who had
rode on his train with the bundles, and
to whom he had given the rebate ticket
between OornwelIs and Eddington.
Mrs. Tabbs showed letter written in a
large scrawling hand that colored man
had slipped under the front door. It was
/ In va txalnna Tbora
mark or stamp on 1t. 1t was addressed to
"Mr. Wakey Gaines, Seaford, Sussex
county, Del, P. o. Box 49," and read as
follows:
PHIIA., Febr. 2, 81.
DEAR FRIEND, hope you will forgive me
for this as have become weary Of life. 1t
seem to me / have nothing to live for ex-
| cept treble those that has cared for me has
| gone back on me and feel that am for
saken by every one who knew me 1t has
been more than 6 weeks since have done
a stroke of work and feal that won't no
more treble don't wont you to think hard
/ of me for theas few lines want theas few
lines to let you know. that you need NOT
write eney more TO me for am not at the
| same place and you need not try to find me
out
She was looked upuntil a further inves-
| tigation of the case can be made.
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 2.-Marv Tabs
has confessed that she carried the body
of Waite Gaines to Eddington last We'd
nesday night and threw it into Colonel |
William B. Mann's ice-pond. When |
Chief of Detectives Kelly left home this |
| morning he went directly to the Fifth |
district station house, at Fifteenth and |
Locust streets, to see Mary. She had |
been taken there by Kelly's detectives,
with instructions not to let anybody see |
her or talk to her, except the detectives |
working on the case. Chief Kelly went |
10 her cell and asked her how she felt. |
She had handkerchief tied around her |
head. She said that she had headache. |
Chief Kelly got her good breakfast and |
asked her if she had anything to say. She |
eli id that she had not. Then the chief said
81 will leave You to your own thoughts |
for the present. may call again this |
afternoon. If you have anything to tell |
ne yeH can send fer st st cry s time -
Detectives Miller and Tate were sent to |
search the woman's house, at No. 1912 |
Richard street, and Detective Crawford |
was sent to hunt up the man Wilson, who /
Mary Tabs said, had been at her house /
with Gaines. At o'clock Detective Draw
ford went to the Fifth district station |
house to see the woman, for the purpose
Of trying to find out If she knew where
Wilson was. She kept saying TO the de-
tective: why don't you get Wilson
Maybe he knows something. Why don't
you get Wilson Pr Detective Crawford
judged from the woman's agitation and
her saying maybe he knows some
thing" that she knew all. He tel
egraphed for Chief Kelly to the Cen
trail station, saying he thought
statement could be gotten from her
about the murder. Chief Kelly and Cen
trail Station Clerk Motfett went up to the
Fifth district station house, and the woman
was taken into Lieutenant Usilitons
room. Chief Kelly soon found out that
she had q load on her heart, and TINT she
wanted to unburden herself. Clerk
Moffett got lot of foolscap paper. Mary
Tabbs sat facing the light from the
window. It was seen that the white
handkerchief tied around her head partly
covered one eye, and that the eye was
good deal blacker than her skin, and was
terribly confused. She told Chief Kelly
that she fell and hurt her eye. When
she began to make her confession she
spoke in low, pleasant, musical voice
At times rs she related the horrible parts
of her story she shuddered and sort of
choked.
She said ,as she watched Clerk Moffett's
pen travelling over the paper, that Wilson
and Gaines were at her house on Feb
ruary 10th, and got into q quarrel about
Annie Richardson, who, Mary Tabbs
says, is her neice, but who is believed to
be her illegitimate daughter. They came
to blows, she says, and finally Wilson
beat Gaines to death with chair. Wilson
dragged Gaines dead body into the cell
lar. Mary continued: "He went down
into the cellar and went half way down
and looked at the body lying on the cellar
floor, and said to Wilson what are
you going to do with him p"
" Tm going to take off his clothes,
Wilson said and he took them off and tied
them up. l saw him pull Gaines shirt
over his head and take his other clothes
of. went into the cellar and we stood
there and looked at the body. He asked
me if the cellar window was open. he
said he wanted something put in front of
it. He couldn't find anything, and then
he said he would go out and be back in
little while. He came back in about 20
minutes. stood in the doorway in the
meantime. After he came back he had
butchers oleaver. did not see him
bring il in. He had it in the lining of
his coat. went up stairs and looked
through the Stats of the window shutters,
to see If any one was coming. He went
down into the cellar. When he came up
he said: I've got il all fixed now